LCBO Food & Drink Early Summer 2021

LCBO NOTES

From our President & CEO

Dear friends, Summer is almost here and as the temperatures rise, so do our hopes that life may be edging a little closer to normal. With good weather—and the vaccine roll- out—we can all look forward to getting out of the house and enjoying more of what we love to do at this time of year. Even if we have to stay close to home, there is so much to do around our beautiful province, and so much support we are able to give to our local restaurants as well as to our Ontario farms and farm stands. And we can still travel the world at the LCBO, the source for the best wines, beers and spirits the planet has to offer. This continues to be a challenging time, and I am proud of the LCBO team’s continued commitment to safely maintaining our operations, which in turn support key public programs that benefit the community, including across education, infrastructure and healthcare. I am also delighted by the ongoing success of our Spirit of Sustainability platform. It has never been more important to stand up for our local businesses, especially our food and beverage industry, to drive diversity, inclusion and belonging, and to carry on our important fundraising and support work. Because of your generosity, last year we

raised over $13 million dollars for charitable organizations across Ontario. And just recently, we announced over $2 million dollars in fundraising for Women’s College Hospital to support equitable healthcare for women and marginalized groups. We simply cannot thank you, our valued customers and partners, enough. Meanwhile, we are always working hard to enhance the services we offer to our customers, whether you shop with us in store or online. Sooner or later we will start entertaining again and enjoying the summer with friends and family. There is plenty in this issue of Food & Drink to serve as inspiration when that time comes, with articles about transforming your patio into the ultimate social space, news of the latest trends in wine, beer, spirits and cocktails, and of course, since we are all cooking more than ever these days, tempting recipes of every description. Here’s to summer!

George Soleas President & CEO, LCBO

PORTRAIT BY JAMES TSE

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EARLY SUMMER 2021 FOOD & DRINK